About 35 rising first through sixth grade youngsters will be opening up The Jungle Book Kids July 8 through July 10 at the Permian Playhouse.
The performance is part of the Playhouse’s summer camp. Show times are 7 p.m. July 8 and 9 and 2:30 p.m. July 10. Admission is $10.
Director Kaylee Cerda said Monday was day one of rehearsals.
“But it is going very well. The kids have so much energy, which we expected. But they are having the blast. They are have already learned one of the dances. They’ve already learned their first song and we begin blocking. Before all of that we had auditions, which they were very nervous but we talked about how we are a team and no matter what character you get that everybody helps one another out … They love that. They love this whole teamwork aspect of it,” Cerda said.
They also like being able to have the camp in person.
“Yes, finally, after all this time. We haven’t been able to have a camp since … 2019. We’ve had spring break camps, but that’s not the same thing as a summer camp,” Cerda said.
Cerda said she has been a director during a spring break camp and one of the student shows, Game of Tiaras, in 2018, which was made up of Kaleidoscope Company students.
Although they only have a few days to rehearse, Cerda said she believes everything will come together.
“I think since we talked so much about teamwork and everybody working together making it all go, I think it’s going to work well. The age group is different for me. I’m usually teaching high school or more, but I think that their energy and just the way they follow direction is going to help the show come together really fast. And I have a really great team. We have a lot of students that are helping, but also former Kaleidoscope members. They came back to volunteer their time to help work,” Cerda added.
Music Director Sam Weaks has been involved in many Permian Playhouse productions.
“This is … one of my last ones before I am headed off to college, so I’m really fortunate to be back in the theater after COVID kind of restricted us from doing a lot of camps and productions,” Weaks said.
He added that he’s glad he has been able to participate in as many productions as possible.
“… We got to do Charlotte’s Web in the spring and I get to be a part of this (Jungle Book Kids), and then I also get to be in SpongeBob, so I’m definitely squeezing in every last moment here that I get,” Weaks said.
He’ll play Perch Perkins.
Weaks said he thinks the Jungle Book production is on an “amazing track.”
“You can always kind of tell as soon as you walk in the the energy of the campers and the energy of the team. And you can just tell already that everyone is having a lot of fun with it and you can’t go wrong with Jungle Book. You know, Jungle Book is just a lot of fun that music is universal, so I can already tell the kids are going to make it a great show,” Weaks said.
Brayden Underwood, 10, is going into fifth grade at Compass Academy Charter School, and Nori Hashem, 11, is going into sixth grade at Montessori Mastery School of Odessa.
Both have been in Permian Playhouse productions before.
Hashem plays Balou and Underwood is Mowgli.
“I think they’re doing really good on teaching us and being very patient with us,” Hashem said.
They are both glad to be back in person.
“I think it’s because theater is such a big thing for me and I’ve always loved it, so when we had to go through COVID it was really disappointing to not be able to be at Permian Playhouse,” Hashem said.
Underwood said this is his first lead role.
“I think it’s going be hard to remember all the lines and we only have eight days to do it, so that makes it even harder,” he added.
Hashem said she enjoys getting to be around people that she cares about.
“And I get to learn new things every day,” she added.
